1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of sanitizing devices. More specifically, the invention comprises a device which sanitizes the inner and outer surfaces of a bulb syringe.
2. Description of the Related Art
A prior art bulb syringe is shown in FIG. 1. Bulb syringe 10 includes a spherical end 12 and an open end 14. Spherical end 12 creates the “bulb” of the syringe, while a long, narrow conduit forms down to open end 14—creating a syringe-type shape, as illustrated. Open end includes a centrally located hole, and the entire device is hollow. Typically, a bulb syringe is fabricated from a soft plastic material. This allows the user to create suction by squeezing the bulb. Using this suction, the user can draw liquid into the bulb. Then, the user can squeeze the bulb in order to force the liquid from the hole located at open end 14. This is useful for many applications, as discussed in the following text.
There are many uses for a bulb syringe. For example a bulb syringe can be used to draw earwax from a user's ear. In addition, a bulb syringe can be used as an enema. While these uses are valuable, the primary use of a bulb syringe known in the art is to draw mucus from a baby's nose and month.
The current invention focuses primarily on using a bulb syringe to draw mucus from the mouth and nose of a baby. When a baby is sick, a mother or father is required to extract the mucus from the mouth or nose of the baby in order to alleviate congestion. Unfortunately, young children are incapable of ridding themselves of the mucus in the ways that adults or older children cars expel mucus. Thus, the suction created by the bulb syringe allows the user to manually remove the mucus. While it depends on the severity of the illness, drawing mucus from the nose and/or mouth of the baby should be done frequently. Typically alter each use, the user cleans out the bulb syringe using a bowl of warm, soapy water. By drawing the water in and expelling it, the user may remove the mucus from the bulb of the syringe. However, this does not sanitize or disinfect the syringe.
There are methods, other than using a bulb syringe which allow a user to extract mucus from the nostrils of a baby. One such technique is to use a cotton swab to clean out the nostrils. However, this technique is not as effective as using a bulb syringe. Another method used to remove the mucus from a baby's nose is to siphon the mucus out using a tube and the mouth of the adult/caretaker. Much like siphoning gas or water, the caregiver inserts a tube into the baby's nose and creates suction with his or her mouth. The disadvantages of this technique stem mainly from the chance of sucking mucus into the user's mouth and disinfecting and cleaning the tube.
Thus, it is evident that a bulb syringe is the most effective tool that can be used in order to remove mucus from the nose of a baby. However, there are sanitation issues that stem from trapping viruses, bacteria, and moisture in the bulb that just are not addressed with soapy, warm water. Therefore, what is needed is a device which allows a user to quickly and effectively disinfect a bulb syringe.
There are several known technologies in the art which are currently used to sanitize/purify air, surfaces, and water. One such method is the use of ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet C or “UVC” light includes light having a wavelength between 100 nm and 280 nm. More particularly, when microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, etc., are exposed to 240-280 nm UV light the organisms are destroyed. The UV radiation destroys the nucleic acids in the organisms, which disrupts their DMA and leaves them unable to perform vital cell functions. However, in order to be successful, the surface, air, or medium to be sanitized must be exposed directly to the ultraviolet light. In addition to direct “line-of-sight” sanitization, UV light can also be used to create ozone. Since ozone readily gives up an oxygen atom, free ozone molecules act as powerful oxidizing agents, thereby destroying microorganisms which interact with the ozone.
Another method of sanitization commonly used is ionization of air. An air ionizer uses electrostatically charged electrodes to charge particles in the air. These particles then interact with organisms and particles in the air or on surfaces. Then, the charged particles form and/or break bonds with the harmful molecules in the air, breaking them down into harmless molecules and compounds. Typically, ionizers use negative ions to achieve this. However, some ionizers create both anions and cations, which increases the effectiveness of the ionizer. This technique is commonly referred to as bi-polar ionization. Using bi-polar ionization allows the charged particles to react with both negative and positive (or negatively and positively susceptible) particles as opposed to just one or the other.
The present invention achieves the objective of sanitization of a bulb syringe using one or more sanitization methods. This objective, as well as others, are explained in the following description.